


Literacy Rates in Werewolves Ages 3-15

by happyhoney



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Lost Years, Pack, Sort Of, Teaching, Werewolves, secret missioning Remus, set during the first year but no marauders ya know?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23795116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyhoney/pseuds/happyhoney
Summary: Remus is staying with Greyback's pack of werewolves during the first war. He learns some hard truths about the younger wizards who were turned at a young age and decides it's up to him to help them. For Order business, of course.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	Literacy Rates in Werewolves Ages 3-15

"Shit, Murray, just take the book." 

"No." 

"It's useful to have. And I know you've been eyeing it." 

"No ruddy book is going to be useful for me." 

Murray was shorter than most boys his age and thinner than Remus ever had been. He was doing his best to mirror Greyback's aggressive posture- squaring his shoulders and puffing out his chest. He betrayed himself when his lips that had been pressed into a thin line started to wobble. 

Remus sighed and brought the worn copy of  _ Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions  _ back to his side. The Order had left him a copy, with messages concealed inside, at the collection site. Remus had removed and burned all of its important pages. Now, the book was just lazy reading material. 

"You don't need a wand to do any of the spells. It could be good just to have the information. For the future, yeah? It won't get you in any trouble." Remus softened his tone.

Murray was only twelve, after all. He was one of the oldest children Greyback kept at the campsite. Young enough to fight, but not old enough to fight back, he made a perfect piece in Greyback's collection. He was still wary of Remus but did not attempt to cover up how he watched Remus read beside the fire at night. Although, that didn't make it impossible for him to be afraid of Remus and suspicious of his gift. 

"Fenrir has already looked through it. You won't get into any trouble." Remus wasn't sure why he was trying so hard. Screw it if the kid wouldn't take the book. It was no loss to him. Murray could follow some other wizard around until they lent him a copy of the  _ Daily Prophet _ . 

"It still won't do me any good, Remus." Murray looked down to kick some rocks defeatedly. "Won't even know what it says." 

"There's not much technical language. It wouldn't be a hard read. Take it. And you- you- oh." Remus paused. "Murray, do you know…have you read a book like this before?" 

Murray's face went red. 

"No." He pushed a pebble into the dirt with his shoe. "I haven't. Haven't seen one big like that since I was with my mum. Mr. Greyback didn't think I should. We don't do much reading here." 

Remus' stomach churned. 'Much reading' clearly meant 'any reading.' Murray hadn't seen his mother since he was five. He knew that most of the children here had not been to, and would never go to, Hogwarts. However, he had assumed that they were getting the basics here. Every witch and wizard knew that it was their duty to teach the children in their ward how to read and write. Without home learning, there was no way they would be ready for Hogwarts when the time came.  _ Oh _ , the anger brewing in Remus' stomach turned to guilt,  _ Hogwarts _ . 

"With no Hogwarts, there was no point in learning." Murray continued after Remus' silence. "At least that's what he said." 

"There is a point." Remus cleared his throat. "Do you know if any of the other boys know how?" 

Murray shook his head. "Leon says he can, but I don't believe him." 

"Okay. Then how about this? I'll hold onto the book for now." 

Murray swallowed hard but nodded. 

"But you can meet me in the mornings, before the first meal, by the firepit, and I will teach you. It won't be so easy, but after maybe I can get you something more exciting to look through." Remus didn't think that any young boy would be so captivated by common medical conditions. He could convince The Order to send him some more books. It wouldn't be hard to make the argument that he was teaching the youth away from misuse of magic. 

"Really?" Murray's eyes had gone wide. "You would teach me?" 

"I would." 

"Can Connor come too? He can more than me, I think, but still. He was home until he was eight, you know? Late to the party and all that." Murray bounced on the balls of his feet. 

Connor was a year older than Murray and talked half as much. Remus didn't consider him a threat but knew how close he often was to Greyback's side. But he didn't want to deter Murray. 

"Maybe after we get you started, he can come. You can really get your footing first, yeah?" 

"Okay. Yeah. Yeah! Yeah, that'd be okay." Murray nodded quickly. He didn't want to lose his chance.

"Then it's settled. I'll be there whenever you're ready, alright?" Remus spent most mornings by the firepit anyway. It was the only place to get proper sunlight in the morning, and space from the other men. Space, he was surprisingly willing to give up. 

"Yeah!" Murray smiled. "Can we start tomorrow?" 

"If you want to, sure." Remus nodded.

"Okay! I will see you there." For a moment, it looked like Murray was going to throw himself at Remus to hug him. But quickly, he turned on his heel and ran off. He stopped after a few strides to call out, "Thank you, Remus!" 

Remus smiled. 


End file.
